Published on: Saturday, July 18, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: City Police Chief, ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria advised the public to stop buying pirated DVDs or VCDs, warning that police will not compromise on the matter.
Those caught buying these face a hefty fine or could spend several years in jail. "Many are unaware but action can be taken against them (for buying pirated DVDs or VCDs) under Section 18(4)(a) of the Film Censorship Act 2002, for having an illegal item," he said.
Those found guilty could either be fined up to RM30,000 or spend three years in jail, or both.
Ahmad Sofi said police recently detained two foreign men, aged 33 and 25, for peddling 122 pieces of DVDs containing pirated movies at Inanam.
Meanwhile, city police launched a big-scale anti-crime operation on Monday with the aim of bringing down petty crimes like thefts, break-ins and snatch-thefts here.
The round-the-clock crackdown has policemen placed on extended beats in numerous areas in the city. Ahmad Sofi said about 60 personnel, who would be supported by the General Operations Force, would be involved in the operation.
"People will see a heavy presence of police in the city during this period."
He said the operation was part of the force's continuous effort to reduce crime, subsequently making the public feel safer.
"We are already seeing the results as the crime count is going down," he pointed out, adding, "we will inform the public when the operation is over and its overall results."
The city Marine Operations Force detained a man and recovered two outboard engines and two water pumps at Kg Taman Kemajuan in Likas here on July 7.
Ahmad Sofi said police believe the suspect had stolen the items from Papar.
In a related development, four foreigners were arrested for playing a card game called Lap Lap Fu at Kg Lembaga Padi in Likas, Monday.
A police team caught the men in the midst of playing the game, adding they seized from them a deck of cards and RM67 from the suspects, aged between 22 and 51.
Two of the suspects held the IMM13 document while the rest were found without any valid papers, he added.
